Dock For Portable Electronic Devices

1. A docking station comprising: a base that is configured to be positioned substantially parallel to a surface on which the docking station is placed; sidewalls that extend from the base; and a top cover that is attached to the sidewalls, the top cover including: a tray that is configured to slidably receive a particularly sized portable electronic device at an angle between 5 and 25 degrees relative to the base, and to surround substantially an entirety of a bottom edge of a peripheral surface of the device, at least half of a first side edge of the peripheral surface of the device, and at least half of a second side edge of the peripheral surface of the device when the device is received in the tray, the tray configured to be open to a top edge of the peripheral surface of the device when the device is received in the tray; wherein the tray is capable of being removed from the docking station, wherein the docking station is capable of receiving a replacement tray for a differently sized portable electronic device; and a physical interface that is configured to physically connect with an interface of the portable electronic device, the physical interface being located at a bottom end of the tray.

2. The docking station of claim 1 , wherein, in a working orientation of the docking station, the portable electronic device is provided at a near horizontal angle when the device is received in the tray.

3. The docking station of claim 1 , further comprising one or more embedded microphones that are mounted to the base, the sidewalls, or the top cover.

4. The docking station of claim 1 , further comprising a microphone jack that is configured to interface with one or more external microphones.

5. The docking station of claim 1 , wherein: the physical interface is configured for use with a particular portable electronic device, and the physical interface is removable and replaceable with another physical interface for a different portable computing device.

6. The docking station of claim 1 , wherein the physical interface comprises an 8-pin connector, a 15-pin connector, or a 19-pin connector.

7. The docking station of claim 1 , wherein the tray is configured to slidably receive the portable electronic device at a near horizontal angle when the base is oriented horizontally.

8. The docking station of claim 1 , wherein the tray is configured to receive the portable electronic device by guiding the first side edge and the second side edge of the device along respective lengths of the first side edge and the second side edge as the device is inserted near a top of the tray and caused to slide into engagement with the physical interface.

9. The docking station of claim 1 , wherein the tray is configured to be secured to the top cover using a plurality of threaded fasteners.

10. The docking station of claim 1 , wherein the portable electronic device is a smartphone that includes an integrated touch-sensitive electronic display.

11. The docking station of claim 1 , wherein at least an inner region of the tray that holds the portable electronic device when the device is received in the tray is constructed of a material that is configured to facilitate retention of the device in the tray due to friction between the device and the tray.

12. The docking station of claim 1 , wherein the docking station includes one or more of a universal serial bus (USB) port, a secure digital (SD) card receiver, and a speaker jack.

13. The docking station of claim 1 , further comprising circuitry that is configured to transfer analog or digital video between an external electronic device and the portable electronic device when the portable electronic device is connected to the physical interface.

14. A docking station comprising: a base that is configured to be positioned substantially parallel to a surface when the docking station is placed on the surface in a working orientation; a top cover that is configured to be positioned above the base, the top cover including a recess that is configured to receive a tray; the tray, wherein the tray includes one or more inner surfaces that are shaped to slidably receive and support a particularly sized portable electronic device on at least a portion of the one or more inner surfaces of the tray without covering a top edge of a peripheral surface of the portable electronic device when the device is received in the tray, wherein the one or more inner surfaces of the tray surround substantially an entirety of a bottom edge of the peripheral surface of the portable electronic device and surround at least half of a first side edge and at least half of a second side edge of the peripheral surface of the portable electronic device when the device is received in the tray, wherein the tray is capable of being removed from the docking station and wherein the docking station is capable of receiving a replacement tray for a differently sized portable electronic device; and a physical interface that is configured to physically connect with an interface of the portable electronic device when the portable electronic device is received in the tray, wherein the top cover and the tray cooperate to orient the portable electronic device at an angle between 5 and 25 degrees relative to the base when the portable electronic device is received in the tray.

15. The docking station of claim 14 , wherein the top cover and the base cooperate to form an enclosure for housing at least one electronic circuit.

16. The docking station of claim 14 , wherein the recess in the top cover is angled between 5 and 25 degrees relative to the base when the top cover and the base are assembled in the docking station.

17. One or more trays for receiving and supporting particularly sized portable electronic devices in a docking station that is capable of receiving different trays for differently sized portable electronic devices, each tray including one or more outer surfaces that are (i) shaped to be complementary to one or more surfaces of a housing of the docking station and (ii) configured to engage with the one or more outer surfaces of the housing so as to detachably couple the tray to the housing, each tray including one or more inner surfaces that are shaped to slidably receive a particularly sized portable electronic device that is inserted from a top end of the tray and to support the portable electronic device at an angle between 5 and 25 degrees from horizontal when (i) the portable electronic device is received in the tray and (ii) the tray is coupled to the housing, wherein the one or more inner surfaces of each tray are configured to surround substantially an entirety of a bottom edge of a peripheral surface of the particularly sized portable electronic device and to surround at least half of a first side edge and at least half of a second side edge of the peripheral surface of the portable electronic device when the device is received in the tray, wherein each tray is structured so as to allow physical connection of an interface of the particularly sized portable electronic device with a physical interface of the docking station when the portable electronic device is received in the tray.